


Service and Devotion

by backtoblack101



Category: Orphan Black
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F, Fluff, Mentions of soccercop, Romance, cophine - Freeform, mentions of lumberpunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-02-09 01:23:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1963698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backtoblack101/pseuds/backtoblack101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Delphine has three months in America to decide whether or not she'll stay there to pursue her PhD. So far the country has two things going for it - the coffee shop across the street from her apartment, and the cute waitress that serves her every day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Enchantée

**Author's Note:**

> Mhm, that title may or may not be inspired by 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton but whatever man, a good song's a good song.

These few months were what Delphine liked to call her make or break months. The month she’d spend in America in order to make up her mind once and for all on whether or not she’d come here to pursue her PhD. She’d been so sure when she’d applied to Minnesota a year ago that this was what she’d wanted – she’d lived in France her entire life, and other than holidays with her parents or with friends she’d never left before now. She’d probably end up spending the rest of her life there as well, and the way she saw it she may as well get a glimpse of the brave new world before she settled down back at home.

It was scary though; packing your bags and relocating half ways across the world by yourself, even if it was only a three month trial period. She’d gotten herself an apartment for the few weeks she’d be here, considering it a lot more desirable than living out of a hotel room for weeks on end. It wasn’t exactly luxurious, but it was as close as she could get to the University of Minnesota campus and it was right across the street from the best coffee she’d had in her entire life.

The place seemed to be a family business of some sort; with a dainty plaque beside the door letting people know it’d been opened in 1974 by Ethan and Susan Duncan, and a hanging sign above it with “Duncan’s Cafe” in whimsical looped lettering.

The owners didn’t seem to run the place anymore – or at least on Delphine’s visits to the café she’d not seen an elderly couple working there.

Instead it seemed they’d hired waitresses rather than keep it strictly in the family. There were three that worked there regularly; Alison was prim and proper, and the only one that wore her nametag, therefore making her the only one Delphine actually knew by name. Then there was a second girl, the same height and build as Alison though a lot rougher around the edges, with a bad attitude to match – not that Delphine would ever call her out on her less than friendly waitressing for fear she’d get a scalding hot cup of coffee thrown in her face.

Finally there was the girl that Delphine kept coming back for day in day out. She managed to mesmerise Delphine at every turn, with long dreadlocks wound up in a bun at the back of her head, and rings bouncing of the ceramic coffee cup she delivered with a warm smile that Delphine knew was genuine because of the fangs that poked out from between her lips.

She was all grace with her body seeming to glide from table to table checking on customers, and her hands flowing free when she leaned back against the counter, chatting and giggling with Alison and the other server when there was a lull in their day.

Delphine was enchanted and she wasn’t quite sure why; yet each day she pushed open the wooden framed door and took her seat on one of the plush leather chairs in the corner next to the window, waiting diligently until this girl skipped towards her with a menu – because it was always her; over the past few days Alison and the other girl always seemed suddenly busy when she arrived.

“Hey,” the girl greeted, her smile all teeth when she halted in front of the table and extended the menu. “Wanna take a look or do you want me to get you the usual?”

Her usual was a latte with an extra shot though she realised as the menu waved inches from her nose that she’d actually managed to go her entire morning without eating – instead immersing herself in all that Minneapolis had to offer a fresh faced tourist.

“I think I’ll take a look at the menu today,” Delphine nodded politely, her fingers curling around the faux-leather bound booklet. “Merci.” She liked speaking French to this girl, she could see the way it lit up her face just that tiny bit more.

“Awesome, well our specials are on the board over there as well,” Cosima nodded enthusiastically, pointing to a chalkboard behind her head. “And I’ll be back over to get your order soonish.” Then she backed away with the same genuine smile on her face, not turning until the back of her knee collided with one of the low tables in her way.

-.-.-.-

“Smooth,” Sarah sniggered once Cosima slid herself back behind the counter.

“What?”

“You fuckin’ colliding with a table, that’s what,” her friend needlessly reminded her, having observed the entire incident (all the while ignoring the two tables that had tried to grab her attention).

“Shut up,” Cosima huffed, a blush clouding her cheeks. “At least I’m serving customers instead of standing back here on facebook,” she added, noticing the app open on the phone Sarah wasn’t even trying to hide.

-.-.-.-

Delphine had decided on a warm chicken salad; in fact she’d decided on it the second her eyes landed on it on in the middle of the second page, yet she still flicked through the menu, reading and re-reading their meals, sandwiches and desserts, even flicking through the kids menu more than once.

Truth be told asking for the food wasn’t the only think she wanted to do – she wanted to know the girls name. It had been bugging her more and more as they days ticked by that she was still just nameless and pretty with cute glasses and an even cuter personality, and now that she was actually going to be staying here longer than it took to make and drink a latte she wanted a name to put to the face.

Of course it was never that simple though, and each time she needlessly glanced through the menu she mentally prepared herself for just how odd she was sure her question would sound. She didn’t get all the time she would have liked though – on her third read through the kids menu she looked up to find herself greeted by the same bubbling smile she’d grown attached to over the past week.

“Ready to order?” The girl questioned, docket booklet and pen in hand and poised ready to go.

“I’ll have the warm chicken salad,” Delphine nodded, turning the page discreetly in case the girl looked down at the menu. “And a latte,” she added once she’d finished writing.

“Nice choice, nice choice,” the dreadlocked girl hummed and for a second Delphine actually felt like she had made a really great decision before realising that no, that was silly, it was just food. “Do you want fries with the salad?”

“Oui… uh yes,” Delphine nodded. “A small plate.”

“Cool, sounds good,” the girl finished scribbling down the order and looked back at Delphine. “Anything else I can do for ya?” She enquired pleasantly, her hands starting back into motion now that she wasn’t restricted by the need to write.

Delphine considered saying no, though somewhere in the back of her mind a voice reminded her “it’s now or never Cormier” and with one final fleeting thought on just how silly it would sound, she spoke up. “You don’t wear a name tag…” she mentioned as casually as she could while painfully aware of how awkward she was being.

“Oh uh… no,” the girl agreed while confusion clouded her features. “I guess I don’t. Is uh… is it a problem?” Her brows knitted together and Delphine suddenly felt very stupid for someone with an iQ as high as hers.

“No, no! I just don’t know your name…” Delphine explained quickly, feeling embarrassment begin to colour her cheeks.

“Oh,” the girl seemed relieved now that she knew it wasn’t something she’d done wrong, and her smile quickly returned. “Cosima,” she added after a beat, shuffling her pen into the same hand as her dockets book and extending her arm. “I’m Cosima.”

“Delphine,” she returned, accepting the surprisingly warm and firm handshake that may or may not have been held for a moment longer than necessary. “Enchantee.”

“Enchantee,” Cosima agreed, her smile softening into something Delphine suspected was usually reserved for people she wasn’t serving food to.


	2. Doe-Eyes?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delphine has three months in America to decide whether or not she'll stay there to pursue her PhD. So far the country has two things going for it - the coffee shop across the street from her apartment, and the cute waitress that serves her every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Sarah and Cosima interacting is more fun than most other things in life...

After that it became Delphine’s thing to go into that café and order something to eat as well as her latte. The food was pretty delicious though if she was being honest that was only a small bonus tagged onto the fact that Cosima had become a lot more chatty with her since they’d learned one another’s names.

It was like being on a first name basis with someone was all the tattooed girl really needed to form a friendship with them, not that Delphine minded. In fact the couple of minutes of conversation she managed to get with Cosima each day was quickly becoming the thing she looked forward to most each morning.

The only problem was how fleeting it was. A quick how are you and some small talk, sometimes little titbits of gossip about annoying customers if there was time. There usually wasn’t though; Duncan’s Café was a popular spot; tourists mainly, though there were a few familiar faces Delphine recognised from time to time when she scanned the room before taking her usual seat.

There was the cop that came in each day at the same time and ordered a black coffee and a fruit scone from Alison, flirting mercilessly through the entire conversation – not that Alison seemed to mind as she giggled along and twirled her ponytail. There was also a man Delphine could only presume was the other waitress boyfriend from the way she acted around him, and she had to admit in spite of the girls lack of charm she’d really done well for herself in the rugged outdoors type that sat at one of the window tables and poured over books that looked a lot like engineering manuals.

Regardless of all these regulars though Delphine seemed to be the only person Cosima made special time for and, amidst the waves of customers streaming through the door, the only one she offered her off duty smile.

Today though, for the first time in the two weeks she’d been coming here, Delphine pushed open the café door to find the place almost barren, with one old man sitting at the far end of the establishment finishing off what looked to have at one point been a Shepard’s pie.

“Hey Delphine,” Cosima called out, obviously feeling no need to use her polite waitress voice without other customers around to hear her. “What’s up?” She pushed herself away from the counter where she’d been standing talking to Alison, the other waitress, and two other people Delphine had never seen before, though judging by their uniforms they were both also employees.

“Not a lot,” she told her with a shrug, standing at the counter rather than finding herself a place to sit. “It’s quiet,” she pointed out.

“Heat wave,” Cosima informed her. “Though I’m sure you noticed.”

“Yea, everyone’s at the fuckin’ pool or lying out gettin’ a tan while we’re stuck here,” the unknown waitress huffed.

“Sarah, you’re getting paid, don’t complain,” Alison chastised – while at the same time finally putting a name to a face for Delphine.

“Yea, plus at least you’re not stuck cooking food in a sweltering hot kitchen all day,” the only male in the group added, giving off an air of flamboyance when he spoke.

Sarah went to say something back to him, though before she had a chance to speak Cosima cut in over her. “How about you go take a seat and I’ll follow you with a menu,” she suggested and Delphine nodded before turning and walking towards her usual spot.

Cosima followed as promised, though unlike most times, she didn’t run off to serve another customer once the menu was in Delphine’s hands. Instead she perched herself on the arm of the seat across from her and returned the smile Delphine shot her.

“Not rushing off?” She questioned, flicking casually through the menu – not that she was taking any of it in.

“Not if that’s cool with you,” Cosima shrugged, not that she seemed too bothered by the farfetched notion that the blonde would actually want to read the menu in peace.

“Company would be nice.” She liked the way Cosima smiled at her realised – each day it seemed to get warmer and more vibrant, like each time Delphine spoke she had more reason for the grin to engulf her features.

“I’d hoped you’d say that.” The crooked grin grew again and Delphine felt an odd fluttering in her chest. “You ready to order?”

“I think so,” she nodded, quickly scanning the menu and deciding on the first thing her eyes landed on. “The goujons sound nice.”

“Nooooo,” Cosima shook her head violently. “You don’t want the goujons.”

“I don’t?” Delphine tried hard to school her features; though she failed miserably when a small giggle bubbled up through her chest at the sight of Cosima’s distain towards her choice.

“Bland,” was all the American gave by means of an excuse. “How about I order for you?” The idea sparked a light behind her dark frames and Delphine couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“Awesome,” She chirped in a sings-song voice before turning in her seat to look back over at her fellow staff, still congregated behind the counter. “Uh Sarah, there’s a customer ready to order over here.” Delphine didn’t even need to see the nervous twinkle in Cosima’s eyes or the indignant look on Sarah’s face to know that calling her like that was probably a bad idea – she saw both though, and held her breath as the dark haired girl stalked towards them.

“And what the bloody hell’s wrong with your hands all of a sudden when you can’t write it down?” She bit, her harsh English accent just making her words seem even more severe.

“I…” Cosima announced lazily, sliding herself into the seat she’d so far been perched on the arm of. “Am going on my break…”

“Fuck sakes,” Sarah muttered, though to Delphine’s surprise she pulled her notepad and pen out from her apron. “I’m going to spit in your food, you know that, yeah?”

“I’m sure it’ll add a unique flavour,” Cosima teased, though Delphine wasn’t so convinced. “Anyway, I’ll have the Cajun chicken wrap with everything on it and some chips, and Delphine,” she paused, giving Delphine a curious once over before seeming to make up her mind. “She’ll have the steak ciabatta, with everything on it and chips.”

“Drinks?” Sarah huffed after a second, not even trying to seem polite.

“Latte with an extra shot for the lady and no need to bring sugar down with it, she never uses it,” Cosima nodded and Delphine tried not to blush at how well Cosima knew her order at this point – even if it was pretty simple. “And I think I’ll have a smoothie.”

“Will you fuck,” Sarah dead panned, stopping mid scribble. “If you think I’m gonna start fuckin’ about cutting up fruit for you and digging the frozen yogurt out of the chill you’ve another thing coming.”

Delphine could see Cosima was tempted to push her friend further, though thankfully she didn’t. “Fine… just a black coffee for me I guess.”

Sarah rolled her eyes and without another word retreated back towards the counter to put the order into the till while the man Delphine now knew to be the cook leaned over her shoulder to check out what he’d be making.

“You know,” Delphine whispered – even though Sarah was now well out of earshot she was not going to be taking any risks. “I sometimes wonder how she got a job in here.”

Cosima didn’t seem ashamed by the obnoxious snorting sound she made following Delphine’s comment and Delphine tried not to become too wrapped up in just how genuine and carefree her laughter seemed. “Oh boy I’m so telling her you said that,” she finally managed between dissipating giggles.

“You will not,” Delphine gasped; leaning across the table and swatting her new friend playfully on the arm.

“Okay, okay I won’t. Scouts honour,” Cosima nodded, raising her hand to her head in salute.  “I suppose it would suck if she dumped your food in your lap after all.”

“It most certainly would,” Delphine agreed, having an awful feeling that it would not be past the realm of possibility for Sarah to do such a thing.

“And I mean you’re right she’s not got the best table manor in the world.” (That was an understatement). “But there are certain customers she’ll go that extra mile to be nice to believe it or not…”

“Like that outdoors man that comes in here a lot?” Delphine inquired.

“Well yea, Cal’s one of them… though he doesn’t really count cos he’s like her long term boyfriend slash baby-daddy,” Cosima explained, and Delphine tried not to be shocked at the fact someone like Sarah would have a child. “But there’re other people too, I mean you’d never guess, but Sarah can actually be the sweetest soul in the world when the mood takes her, like she has a super kind heart. That’s why she got this gig actually, she knew the Duncan’s when she was younger and she was always super good with Mrs Duncan, especially when she got sick and stuff… so when Mr Duncan heard she’d had a kid he offered her a job here to make some extra cash.”

“Oh,” Delphine was still shocked, though she was staring to see Sarah in a whole new light.

“Yea, it’s actually super funny,” Cosima continued with an amused smirk. “Duncan’s daughter Rachel absolutely despises Sarah, but when she took over the place two years ago Mr Duncan told her that under no circumstances was she to fire her… pretty sure half the time Sarah’s just an asshole to bug her.”

“That’s… amusing,” Delphine agreed, not saying anything else when she noticed Sarah approaching the table with their cutlery and drinks.

“You two having fun on you date?” The British girl teased as she haphazardly threw down the cutlery.

“How mature of you,” Cosima sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Oh please… I can see the doe-eyes you two are giving one another from the till,” she challenged while she took only slightly more care placing down their drinks.

“Doe-eyes…?” Delphine had never heard the term before, though with the knowing look Sarah was throwing them she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out.

“It means…” Sarah drawled casually, ignoring the obvious glares being thrown at her by her work colleague. “That Cosima here has the hots for you blondie, and she’d very much like to bend you over this tab- oh fuck sakes Cosima.” Sarah staggered off to one side, grasping her shin where she’d just been kicked rather forcefully.

“Leg spasm,” Cosima countered, though her stare was still harsh and Sarah finally took heed of her warning and stormed off towards the counter again.

“Are you going to tell me what that was about?” Delphine enquired, lifting her drink of the saucer and taking a sip of the still scalding liquid (at least it didn’t taste like it had saliva in it).

“You really want me to?” There was something about Cosima’s embarrassment that Delphine found rather amusing, and she nodded her head enthusiastically, encouraging her to speak.

“Sarah thinks I have a crush on you,” she explained with a half-hearted shrug, her hands moving like they were trying to swat away the sudden heat that was colouring her cheeks.

“A crush…” Delphine let the word roll over on her tongue before her lips quirked upwards. “I see.”

“You do, do ya?” Cosima’s lips stretched into a tentative smile when she realised Delphine wasn’t running a mile.

“I do.” Delphine was giving nothing away, and she could see it beginning to irritate the brunette across from her.

“And you think…” Cosima prompted eagerly, her head bobbing forward as if it was needed to give Delphine a physical push of some sort.

“… that you have a good taste when it comes to crushes,” Delphine teased – deciding to keep her cards close to her chest for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so there was so much really cool feedback on that last chapter, so huge thank you for that. Also feel free to leave equally cool feedback on this chapter if you so wish...


	3. Chicken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delphine has three months in America to decide whether or not she'll stay there to pursue her PhD. So far the country has two things going for it - the coffee shop across the street from her apartment, and the cute waitress that serves her every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blink and you'll miss it, but this chapter's actually about my hatred for smoothie machines.  
> (Also I'm sorry about the delay between chapters, I try to post a chapter once a week and I know it's been more than a week but work is just ridiculously busy at the moment so... sorry?)

For the next few days the heat wave continued and so too did Delphine’s lunch dates with Cosima. It was always the same – she walked in, greeted Alison, Sarah, Felix (whose name she’d learned from Cosima) and sometimes Helena if she was there too (the dishwasher Cosima had informed her, and kinda creepy until you got to know her). Then she’d let Cosima lead her to a table where she’d insist on ordering something new for her each day – apparently she knew better than anyone when it came to the food in here.

It wasn’t just the food that was good though. Cosima’s company was riveting and even as they navigated the murky waters of friendly flirting they managed in depth discussions about everything relating to Delphine’s favourite topic; biological science. Cosima, Delphine had learned, was also about to start her PhD in Evolutionary Development here in Minnesota. Their conversations about genetics and the future of human evolution were among the most thought evoking Delphine had ever experienced and each day she found herself more and more reluctant to let Cosima leave when her half hour lunch break was up and she had to get back to “the grind stone” as the American so playfully put it.

Still though, all good things had to come to an end, and Delphine was prepared for her good thing to end the day she walked into the café, having already noted the cold turn in the weather and the dangerous storm clouds threatening them from above.

Cosima wasn’t behind the counter, though she still managed to greet her – half running from the table she’d been serving drinks to and flashing her a smile when they met in the middle of the floor.

“Heat wave’s over.” Not that Delphine needed to be told, though she nodded dully at Cosima’s words anyway. “Don’t be so glum chum! You sit, I’ll bring you a menu and I’m sure we’ll scrape together five minutes conversation between us.”

Five minutes didn’t seem very much at all when Delphine was used to an entire half hour of Cosima’s undivided attention, though she nodded diligently anyway and milled through the tables to her usual seat. It took longer than usual for Cosima to re-appear with a menu, though she tried not to let it bother her.

“Honestly Delphine, your best back massage, stat,” the dreadlocked girl teased even though her usually playful eyes were weary.

“Bad day?” Delphine hummed, accepting the menu from outstretched hands.

“The smoothie machine jizzed all over Alison earlier so she had to leave early because of fruit gunk in her eye.” She tried to make it sound serious though evidently the memory of the incident was too funny not to smile at. “You should have seen her face…” she choked out through her earnest façade.

“I can only imagine the panic.” She quirked her lips into a half smile – though her amusement was much more rooted in Cosima’s attempt’s to remain stoic rather than the presumably hilarious image of the incident.

“She almost shat a brick she got such a fright,” Cosima nodded – still fighting to keep her lips from bowing into a grin. “Then she ranted and raved about going blind until Rachel let her leave… so funny and all as it was it’s just me and Sarah keeping this place in check today.”

“That can’t be easy.” It wasn’t that the place had a queue out the door, though over half the tables were full and while it may have been too little work for three waitresses it was certainly too much for two.

“It’s like slowly watching a ship sink…” Cosima nodded dully. “Though at least I’ve your pretty face to keep my mind off this disaster of a day for the next half hour or so.”

“If I’d know it was distraction you’d needed I would have considered a more revealing top,” Delphine hummed, even daring to shoot a quick smirk in the waitress’s direction.

“Nah, there’s a fine line between distraction and me flying ass over elbows onto the floor with a tray full of drinks, and we couldn’t have that,” Cosima brushed off the remark easily.

“You’re no fun.” Delphine pouted and closed the menu simultaneously.

“This job just sucks the life right outta me,” Cosima explained with a mellow dramatic sigh to match the mellow dramatic hand that fell across her forehead. “Now, you know what you want or was your plan to just keep me here talking until Sarah comes over and drags me away by a dreadlock?”

Delphine was tempted to admit that the food wouldn’t taste as good without the company but it wasn’t in her nature to sound clingy even if that was how she felt. “Just a prawn cocktail and perhaps a salad?”

“Healthy option I see… have I taught you nothing?” Cosima shook her head in dismay.

“I’m trying to kick bad habits while you’re not here to corrupt me,” Delphine informed her with a barely there smirk.

“And here was me thinking you liked to be corrupted.”

-.-.-.-

“Chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken…” Sarah chanted when they crossed paths in the middle of the floor – she ignored her.

“Chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken,” Felix called faintly from the open door of the kitchen behind the counter – she ignored him too.

She punched the order into the till then turned to the coffee machine to prepare the latte; then she heard it again. “Chicken, chicken, chick-“

“Sarah.” It was meant to be an irritated snap, though her best friend was just so damn aggravatingly amusing.  “Can you stop?”

“Not until you ask her for her number,” the British girl fired back, seeming all too pleased in her ability to rile up her friend.

“I will…” They’d been having this conversation far longer than Cosima cared to admit to.

“Wow, am I having déjà vu or have you being saying that since she first started coming in here?”

“Fuck off,” the exasperated phrase was all Cosima could manage in defence.

“Not until you fuck her.” Sarah was far too quick with her come backs and even quicker on her feet, being back out on the café floor before Cosima had a chance to tell her not to be so goddamn crass.

-.-.-.-

Delphine smiled when Cosima returned with her latte, though didn’t even have a chance to open her mouth to thank her before she was being hailed down by a man two tables away, insisting his potatoes had come out cold. She tried to ignore the way her chest sank – had she really become this attached?

When Cosima came back with her food a few minutes later she’d had the looks of someone going to chance a few minutes of conversation – this time it had been the table in front of Delphine that had summoned her to order a second round of drinks. (She realised she’d definitely gotten attached).

She was still thrown the odd smile, and every now and then the dreadlocked waitress would even take a detour past her table just to mutter angrily about rude customers as she passed (apparently the man that had complained earlier about his potatoes was “just as obnoxious as that stupid Hawaiian t-shirt he’s trying to pull off”) though she’d all but given up hope of having an actual conversation with her by the time she’d swallowed the remains of her salad and licked the lingering froth off her latte spoon. Instead she rose slowly from her seat and milled through the tables towards the till where Sarah was typing in an order.

She stood for a moment waiting for her to finish, though once she did she turned away towards the coffee machine without paying a blind bit of notice to Delphine. “Uh… Sarah?” She felt weird calling the girl by her first name when they’d barely said two words to one another before, though the waitress was doing her best to ignore her. “Can I pay?”

“Not yet no,” the British girl replied, barely looking over her shoulder when she spoke.

Delphine rolled her eyes but smiled to herself anyway. She knew what Sarah was doing, and although part of her was embarrassed by the fact that the entire staff apparently knew of her and Cosima’s flirtatious relationship she couldn’t help but feel a small wave of excitement in her chest at the thought of actually having a second chance to talk to Cosima before she left.

So she stood to the side and let her eyes wander across the café until they landed on the woman in question. She watched Cosima lay out drinks and glasses in front of a small family – she was so graceful in her movements, swirling around the table like some kind of interpretive dancer and laying down the cutlery as if nothing gave her greater happiness. Her smile also, was almost audible to Delphine at this point. She could hear the little sound of joy in the back of her mind when she watched Cosima’s lips crack into a grin at whatever one of the younger children had said to her and absently she wondered if it was a sound Cosima actually made or if it was just one she associated with her.

It didn’t seem to matter all that much, especially when she heard it again at the sight of Cosima looking up from her work and spotting her at the till. Her smile mellowed but remained just as fond, and with one final glance back at the family to make sure she’d given them everything they’d need she was breezing back across the floor towards her.

“Couldn’t leave without saying bye huh?” She teased, stationing herself behind the counter and tapping the screen a few times to bring up Delphine’s bill.

“Something like that,” Delphine agreed, choosing to leave out the part about not having much choice.

“Damn Miss Cormier control your boner for me.” Her tongue poked out from between her lips when she spoke, and for a second Delphine considered the task easier said than done. “That’s sixteen ninety please?” She added, not giving Delphine a chance to brush off her remark.

She handed over a twenty, and as ever insisted that she keep the change. “For such excellent customer service,” she explained with a smile.

“You mean I don’t even have to sit with you to get a tip.” Cosima feigned shock. “God and to think the amount of work I could’ve been getting done!”

“Cheeky.” Delphine reached out and swatted her arm across the counter. “Do you want my tip or not?”

“Actually.” Delphine could see the sudden change in Cosima’s demeanour – still flirty, though now with just the smallest inclination of nerves. “How about instead of a tip you give me your number?”

Delphine smiled and Cosima reached into her apron, shoving her docket book and a pen towards her. She was sure to keep her handwriting neater than usual and even considered leaving an ‘x’ at the end, though last minute decided against it – there was a fine line between harmless flirting and being perhaps a tad too overenthusiastic, and an ‘x’ would certainly be crossing that line.

“You better call,” she warned playfully, ripping the paper from the notepad and folding it once before sliding it back across the counter.

Cosima snorted out a hard breath at the absurd notion that she wouldn’t be doing just that. “Oh trust me, you have my word.”

-.-.-.-

Delphine found that while Cosima wasn’t the kind of girl to go back on her word, she was also certainly the kind of girl to take her time following through on it. In fact it was three days – each one filled with a meal for one and some brief snatches of conversation – before her phone lit up with an unknown number.

Even before answering Delphine knew who it was – after all, who the hell else would be calling her at half seven in the morning (even her family back in France were more observant of time differences than that). “Allo?” She had tried to clear the sleep from her voice, though evidently failed.

“Oh shit you were sleeping! Shit, sorry, shit!” Cosima was speaking so fast Delphine could barely comprehend it at this hour of the morning, though she was still able to imagine arms flailing through the rushed apology.

“Cosima, c’est bien,” she soothed, pushing herself into a sitting position. “I would have woken soon anyway.” Not strictly the truth, though she had planned on taking a walk to the University library today to familiarise herself with it.

“Still sorry, totally sorry,” she was still rushing through her sentences and Delphine realised she sounded rather cute while apologising. “I was just up anyway cos I have shopping and stuff to do before work, y’know, can’t live off ramen noodles and stale bread forever, oh and then I’ve a tonne of books I was thinking of donating to the book store at some point and a dress to leave at the drycleaners, totally awful incident involving me trying to do a shot with-“

“Cosima.” As interested as she was to find out how doing a shot had resulted in a ruined dress it was half seven in the morning. “As glad as I am that you are finally using the number I gave you… I really hope you had a point to all of this.”

“Yes, yes, yes! Totally, definitely, yes!” Delphine imagined a hand waving through the air punctuating each word. “Okay, so Felix, you know Felix? Cook guy Felix?”

“Oui, I know Felix,” Delphine hummed.

“Right, well Felix is offering up his loft for one night only for like a party kinda thing I guess,” she continued, confident that Delphine did in fact know who she was talking about. “There’s not gonna be that many there, mostly just work people and some friends and I was wondering…”

“If I’d go with you?”

“Bang on the money!” Delphine found herself laughing softly at the choice phrase. “Sooo?”

“Where shall I meet you?” She’d not actually experienced any of the night-life yet, her mother having always warned her against going out on her own, and she supposed this would be a good starting experience.

“Oh yea, that’s the other thing.” She wondered if she hadn’t asked would Cosima just have forgotten to give her any other details. “Instead of coming in during the day, if you come to the café at like… half nine-ish I’ll be finishing up about then so we can go together from there?”

“Okay, I will see you at half nine.”

“Awesome, awesome, awesome, half nine it is.” She could hear Cosima’s smile through the phone for the briefest of seconds before the line went dead.

She let her body sink back down into the warm folds of her bed linen and stared at the ceiling for a long moment before finally realising she was smiling like an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh I just live for the feedback you guys give...


	4. Fishbowl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so yea, I don't know how anyone else does fishbowls at parties, but at any party I've ever been to we basically just add a little bit of all the alcohol in the room and hope it kills no one??  
> Also, to the anon that asked last chapter what smoothie machines had ever done to me: THEY JUST MAKE LIFE REALLY DIFFICULT BECAUSE THE ONE AT WORK IS NEVER WORKING PROPERLY SO IT TAKES LIKE 20 MINUTES TO MAKE ONE SMOOTHIE, and that just really bothers me.

When Delphine arrived at the café that evening it was just after half nine, and Cosima was already half ways through washing the floors. She took a seat by the door and watched the dreadlocked girl work – laughing softly to herself at the way she ran the mop so liberally over the floor she was almost certainly missing half the tiles.

She was so caught up in the natural sway of Cosima’s hips while she worked she didn’t even realise she’d forgotten to announce her arrival, and was almost as startled as Cosima when her presence was finally noticed.

“Holy watershed dude!” She was clinging comically to her chest, and had taken a jump back that had almost landed her in the mop bucket.

“Oh, je desole!” She reached out an apologetic hand even though Cosima was well out of arms reach. “I uh… forgot to say hello.”

“Too busy checking out my ass,” Cosima nodded all too knowingly. “It’s cool, just wait until you see how good it’s gonna look in the skirt I’ve planned for tonight,” she added with a flirtatious wink that made Delphine’s stomach flutter.

Without another word she picked up the mop bucket and disappeared through a door at the back of the café Delphine had never noticed before. She felt odd waiting in the empty space – it seemed almost eerie when she was used to it being full of chatter and the sound of cutlery scraping off ceramic dishes – though it wasn’t long before Cosima re-emerged, now dressed in a tight pattern skirt and loose burgundy top.

“We ready?” She announced, fishing a set of keys out of the handbag on her shoulder and walking towards the door where Delphine was now standing.

“Oui… you look nice by the way,” she added, her eyes wandering away from Cosima’s and down as far as her gold statement necklace before catching herself and snapping them back up.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Cosima smirked, motioning for her to go out the door and back into the street. “I especially appreciate the see through quality of that white tank top you’re wearing,” she added almost too innocently over her shoulder as she locked the front door behind them and pulled down a shutter from overhead.

-.-.-.-

Delphine could smell weed before they’d even pushed open the metal door to Felix’s loft, and she smiled to herself as she imagined her mother’s horror struck expression if she were ever to know this is where she’d be spending her evening.

When they stepped inside she was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people she recognised. Alison and her officer friend were sitting on the couch, the woman’s hand draped over Alison’s shoulder. Delphine would be more shocked by her presence at the party, though her eyes were extremely dilated, giving Delphine the distinct impression that she was off duty for the evening. Next she spotted Helena, hovering next to the few trays of food that had haphazardly been laid out, clutching a plate in one hand stacked high with cocktail sausages and a glass full of some kind of murky blue liquid in the other.

She didn’t have much time to dwell on just what the liquid was though because Cosima’s hand was in her own, and before she knew what was going on she was being pulled away from the door and towards the kitchen space, where Felix, Sarah, Cal and an unknown man were standing around a table of drinks.

“Hey, you made it,” Felix called by means of greeting, his voice looser than the one previous time Delphine had heard him speak.

“Why wouldn’t we?” Cosima laughed, grabbing two glasses and dipping one into a bowl of the same murky blue liquid Helena had been drinking before thrusting it in Delphine’s direction. “Don’t worry… it’s just a fishbowl.” She’d obviously noticed Delphine’s slightly panicked expression, though the foreign term done nothing to make her feel any better.

“Fishbowl?” She accepted the drink gingerly and gave it a quick sniff – definitely alcohol.

“Mhm,” Felix nodded at the blonde. “Tony here made it,” he explained, pointing to the man at his side. “It’s vodka, jager, some Bacardi orange, a lot of wkd blue and…” he trailed off, looking to Tony to wrap up the ingredients list.

“I think I threw a little rum in there too,” he nodded. “Don’t worry though blondie, it’s good, I swear.”

Delphine wasn’t sure on his word, though Cosima had already filled her own glass and was taking a sip, prompting Delphine to do the same with a subtle nod. It was strong, it was definitely strong, and there was more than a little rum in it, though the sweeter drinks gave it a pleasant aftertaste and Delphine found herself nodding in approval as five sets of eyes watched with bated breath.

“Oui, c’est bon,” she smiled at Tony and watched the delighted look spread across his face.

“Hey, pretty girl likes my drink.”

“Her name’s Delphine,” Cosima informed her friend, though Delphine noticed she never quite looked at Tony when she spoke, instead maintaining eye contact with her as she took another healthy gulp of the concoction.

“Yea, and she’s Cosima’s pretty girl,” Sarah added, leaning back into Cal to avoid a slap from her dreadlocked friend.

“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Cosima told her with a firm nod, trying to sound casual even though Delphine could see faint colour rising in her cheeks.

“There’s weed in a box on the coffee table,” Felix supplied as they moved away from the small group. “Just roll your own.”

“Thanks Fee,” Cosima grinned, grabbing Delphine’s free hand again and pulling her away.

“Don’t thank me; it was a gift from Ramon…” He called over the music. “You two just have fun,” he added then, and if Delphine had blinked she’d have missed the wink he threw in for good measure.

“You ever done weed before?” Cosima questioned, apparently choosing to ignore her friend’s comment.

“Non, I stick to cigarettes,” she replied, kneeling with Cosima at the table and watching the girl pull some weed and a slip of thin paper towards her.

“Really? Didn’t have you pegged as a smoker Cormier?” She never looked up when she spoke, instead putting her drink down and setting to work rolling the perfect joint.

“I have cut back… cigarettes do not taste the same in America,” she explained with a simple shrug, watching the concentration on Cosima’s face as she bunched the marijuana in the centre of the paper.

“And here was me thinking when people came to America they became less healthy,” Cosima scoffed. “Now, the real question is would you like to try some good ol’ Mary Jane? I mean if you don’t it’s like totes cool… I don’t even need to smoke this if you don’t want me to…” She added hastily, stopping mid motion as she raised the joint towards her lips.

“Non, it’s fine,” Delphine nodded assuring her that it was at least okay for her to finish her creation. “I would uh…” She paused, and for a second her eyes simply followed the way Cosima’s tongue traced the edge of the paper. “I would love to try one actually…”

“One,” Cosima began to explain, finishing rolling her joint into a perfect cylinder. “May be a tad ambitious… don’t want you going green on me.” Delphine wasn’t sure what the term meant, though presumed form the way Cosima said it that she probably wouldn’t want that either. “How about we go halves on this one and see where that gets us?”

“Okay.” She crossed her legs, mimicking Cosima’s stance, and watched as the tattooed girl lit up the joint with a lighter she’d apparently materialised from thin air.

“Right… the trick is to try and like hold the smoke in your lungs for a few seconds… seven’s a fairly good number.” As she explained the best method Delphine’s gaze drop to her lips – she liked the way the moved when Cosima spoke, and liked even more the way they looked when they curved around the joint.

It took all her effort to draw her eyes away again, and she realised that perhaps her drink was a lot stronger than she thought.

Weed apparently was also stronger than she thought, or perhaps Cosima was a lot more of a pro than she let on to be. Either way the smooth drag the American had managed to take just made her sharp intake and quick spluttering coughing fit seem all the more embarrassing, even if no one but Cosima herself seemed to notice.

“Oh shit dude, you okay?” Cosima had removed the joint from Delphine’s hand and was running her free hand in soothing motions up and down the length of Delphine’s back as she tried to control her watering eyes.

“Oui I uh… I think I was too ambitious,” she wheezed. “Perhaps I thought smokers lungs would help me out?”

“A lot of people seem to think that,” Cosima nodded absently, taking another quick hit and blowing it out through her nose after a couple of seconds. “I dunno what to tell you though… I think it’s just a different kind of smoke or something?”

“It must be.” At some point Cosima’s hand had found a sliver of skin that lay exposed between Delphine’s tank top and black skinny jeans, and this was where it rested now even after Delphine’s lungs calmed down. “Could I try…?” She held out her hand questioningly, and Cosima obliged without hesitation, handing back the joint and taking advantage of her free hand to reach for her glass.

“Just… less ambitious this time,” she suggested, though Delphine found it difficult yet again to concentrate on what she was saying when she felt the hand on the small of her back slip completely under the fabric of her top and rest gently – almost apprehensively – against her skin.

“Less ambitious,” she agreed, and looked out at Cosima from under long lashes as she took a notably shorter drag.

This time it wasn’t quite as much of a challenge to keep the smoke coiled in her lungs, and in her head she’d almost counted to seven by the time she could feel it clawing to get back out again. She released it without the mellow dramatic spluttering this time, blowing the smoke in a cloud around Cosima’s face. Her head already felt lighter when she handed the weed back over, and what she was sure was a silly grin plastered itself on her face.

“Look at you go,” Cosima hummed her approval, taking another quick drag.

“I’ve learned from the best.” When she spoke she let the hand that had been holding the joint fall onto Cosima’s tight-clad knee, her thumb rubbing slow circles as she watched her pull another, slower, cloud of smoke into her chest.

“Flattery,” Cosima hummed after a moment between the long sea of smoke that she pushed from her lips. “Will get you everywhere Miss Cormier.”

It was then Delphine decided she’d quite like to kiss Cosima Niehaus before the night was out, though all things considered the middle of Felix’s loft so early in the night, when people were still all too aware of the actions of others, didn’t seem the time nor the place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so just a huge thank you to everyone leaving reviews because reading them makes me so happy and it's great to know that you guys are actually enjoying what i'm writing here, so yea, thanks.


	5. Handsy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delphine has three months in America to decide whether or not she'll stay there to pursue her PhD. So far the country has two things going for it - the coffee shop across the street from her apartment, and the cute waitress that serves her every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Delphine finally throws caution to the wind in this chapter because who wouldn't want to kiss Cosima when given the chance, right?

Delphine had learned a lot tonight. She’d learned the name of Alison’s friend (girlfriend maybe?) was Beth, and that Beth was actually quite nice – a little too like Alison for Delphine’s liking, but perfectly nice all the same. She also learned that two cups of Tony’s ‘fishbowl’ was more than enough for her, especially after seeing some poor boy (Raj according to Cosima) throwing his guts up in the bathroom sink after his sixth. She’d instead switched to the cider that was being offered to people not brave enough for the lethal concoction, and some more weed occasionally when it was offered to her – mainly from Cosima, with the occasional drag of Felix or Cal’s joint being offered up as well.

Most importantly though, tonight had taught her that outside of work Cosima was an extremely handsy person – not that she was complaining.

When Cosima dragged her around the room introducing her to everyone their hands had remained entwined the entire time. When they’d taken a quick rest on the couch to finish off their drinks and talk to Alison and Beth for a while her arm had been wrapped around Delphine’s waist, and she hadn’t complained in the slightest when Delphine had used one of her thighs as a make-shift arm rest during the conversation.

Yes, Cosima was an extremely handsy person, and it wasn’t that Delphine was complaining, though it was most certainly starting to bother her.

Right now for example she was supposed to be focusing on the story Felix was telling her – she vaguely registered it was an account of how he’d met Tony. Instead though she found her concentration slipping away from the conversation; instead favouring the way Cosima had leaned back into her chest, grabbing both Delphine’s hands and linking them across her stomach before covering them with her own. On top of this, the beat of the music was a particularly catchy one – by which she meant that Cosima’s hips swaying to the rhythm was catching against her pelvis in a very particular way.

In fact, she almost huffed out an audible sigh of relief when Sarah pulled Felix away from conversation to let him know Raj had moved his projectile vomiting to the bathtub. “We should dance.” When she spoke she made sure her lips brushed the shell of Cosima’s ear.

“I kinda already am,” Cosima murmured, rolling her hips particularly hard against Delphine’s groin to prove her point.

“Petite merde,” Delphine gasped, then Cosima laughed so infectiously she couldn’t help but join in. “Come one.” She demanded, tugging lightly on one of the hands folded over her own and leading the way to the middle of the floor.

The coffee table had been pushed out of the way already to make room for Sarah and Cal’s grinding though several other party goers had joined the floor since then, including a very chill looking Beth and a much more tightly wound Alison.

Delphine pulled Cosima to a halt beside the couch and instinctively let her fore arms drape over her shoulders. In return Cosima’s arms gripped firmly at her waist and as they began swaying in time to the low bass filling the room she felt said hands pulling her closer until their pelvises were grinding rhythmically, sending fiery jolts up through Delphine’s spine.

Their dancing was by no means perfect – both had consumed far too much alcohol for that to be the case – though there was still something oddly precise about each move of their bodies. The way their hips rocked, the way Cosima’s hand slid under her top to the small of her back, the way her own hands wound around her narrow shoulders, with one finding purchase in her thick dreads.

It was building to something, and both women pretended not to know exactly what, even when their heads fell closer and Delphine could feel Cosima’s breath against her face just as she knew Cosima could feel hers.

The kiss itself was brief at first, Cosima having been the one in the end to decide to test the waters. She must have noticed Delphine’s failure to pull back though, because their lips had barely parted when she was surging forward again, this time kissing her with a firmness and a confidence she’d initially been lacking.

She tasted of marijuana and sweet liquor and something else Delphine couldn’t quite put her finger on, though knew she’d never give up on trying to figure it out. She kissed the way Delphine had imagined she would during her brief lapses of integrity while she’d watch Cosima licking her lips while taking an order and wondered how those lips would feel against her own – now she knew. They were soft yet demanding; the kind of lips you’d never tire of kissing, but on the off chance you did they’d not let go without a fight.

Cosima’s kiss was the kind of kiss that intoxicated a person. She could feel it warming her like a dangerously addictive form of liquor, and when her lips parted to allow Cosima’s tongue room to explore she felt drunker than she’d felt all night.

Then her bottom lip was drawn between playful, nipping teeth, and somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that perhaps she should be embarrassed by the way she moaned, but suddenly there were hands tugging her hips forward and she realised she didn’t have it in her to care. Somehow vaguely she registered they were moving towards the couch, and without even thinking it was her that gave the final push, sending both of them tumbling onto the plush cushions and fabric dampened by previously spilled drinks.

Neither cared about what horrible concoction of spirits they’d landed on though, not when Delphine straddled Cosima’s slight waist and sunk her fingers into her dreads, and not when Cosima’s hands slid to the small of her back and under her top where they raked across her skin; determine to mark the creamy porcelain.

They also couldn’t find it within themselves to care about the abstract hoots and hollers Delphine was registering over the music. She knew it was more than likely aimed at them and she knew that once sober she’d probably be mortified at the thought of their very public display of affection, though right now her body was shuddering with pent up desire, and Cosima was groaning beneath her at the way she rolled her hips into her lap, and the notion of embarrassment seemed so farfetched and distant she just kissed harder and focused on the way Cosima’s body responded to her own.

It was eventually a different noise that metaphorically threw cold water in their faces and shattered their moment in half – that noise of course, was Sarah Manning.

“You all owe me twenty dollars!” Delphine vaguely remembered her having left for the bathroom (and only because she’d made such a show of going into “the vomit pit”) and figured it was that absence that had stopped her noticing them sooner.

“None of us ever agreed to that bet Sarah.” This time it was Alison’s voice she heard. “We all knew it was going to happen so why would we bet money against it?”

“Actually I bet against it.” It was Felix talking now, though Delphine was quickly becoming more pre-occupied by the way Cosima was giggling against her shoulder. “I really did think Delphine was straight.”

Delphine was half tempted to tell him before meeting Cosima she’d considered herself straight as well, though she realised this would involve turning away from Cosima’s embrace to face him, and involve not being quite as close to Cosima as she was right now so in the end she decided it could wait for another day.

Instead a new idea struck her as she half listened to Felix grumbling about lipstick lesbians throwing off his gaydar. “Alons-y,” she whispered against the shell of Cosima’s ear, relishing the way her body shuddered beneath her.

“Mmm.” The sound of agreement quivered against her clavicle. “Before Felix starts quizzing you on your orientation.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean most of my chapters do tend to be longer so I apologize for the length of this, but content was good... right?


	6. Milkshake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delphine has three months in America to decide whether or not she’ll stay there to pursue her PhD. So far the country has two things going for it - the coffee shop across the street from her apartment, and the cute waitress that serves her every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I skipped the sex, I'm a fucking asshole. 
> 
> (actually I'm really just using this as a chance to promote my other fic, because guys, if you're upset about me skipping the good stuff I write a 50 Shades thing that's all about Cophine sex!)
> 
> Also, fun fact: C'est la vie was the first french phrase I ever learned because it's the name of a really awful song I used to be really obsessed with when I was like four or five (I know, you never asked to know that, but now you do so there ya go...)

When Delphine woke the next morning she felt like an entire brass band had marched across her forehead during the night. Not just her head, but her entire body was in agony and she wondered distantly what cruel force had woken her before she’d had adequate time to sleep off her hangover – though before she had time to figure it out she realised something else.

This wasn’t her apartment.

She saw Cosima through the half drawn curtains that separated the girl’s bedroom from the rest of the small space and the entire night came flooding back to her.

If Cosima had been good at kissing then Delphine really should have expected her to be just as skilled with her tongue in other areas, though she was still quite pleasantly surprised when the time came. She’d never even considered sleeping with a woman before; though with Cosima’s guidance and gentle reassurance it had felt like the most natural thing in the world by the time their bodies had finally succumbed to exhaustion.

She realised then it had been the absence of a warm body by her side that had drawn her from her sleep, and she decided it was something that needed to be corrected immediately. “Cosima?” She held back a laugh at just how comically Cosima jumped at the sound of her own name.

“Oh shit, see now you’ve woken her.” Delphine realised for the first time she’d been having a conversation when she came back through the curtain with an iPhone pressed between her ear and shoulder. “Fuck you Sarah. Oh ha, ha you’re so comical. Whatever… whatever… yea… bye.” She rubbed her temple and placed her phone back down on the nightstand before glancing down at Delphine and smiling broadly. “Is your head as sore as mine today?”

“Mhm.” Even speaking about it made her temples ache.

“Shall we chance food?”

“Non,” Delphine shook her head slowly. “I do not think my stomach…”

“Say no more,” Cosima nodded. “It’s only like half eight anyway and I’m only working a short shift today, so we’ve still got time to get food later.” As she spoke she pulled off the robe she’d tied loosely around her waist, revealing herself to be completely naked beneath the satin material.

“Later sounds good,” Delphine nodded, her eyes raking appreciatively over the other woman. “Later sounds very good,” she emphasised as Cosima crawled back into bed next to her.

-.-.-.-

By eleven Delphine’s stomach was actively protesting the lack of nutrition just loud enough to wake Cosima from where she’d been dozing against her shoulder. She’d thought she’d gotten away with the noise at first, though a second later she felt the body coiled against her own shake with laughter.

“I guess someone’s finally ready for food then.” The words wavered over her collarbone leaving goosebumps in their wake.

“Mmm, oui, food would be very good,” she hummed, her fingers absently doodling patterns into Cosima’s spine.

“Cool, cos there’s a place around the corner that does the best milkshakes,” Cosima informed her though she made no move to lift her head away from Delphine’s bare skin just yet.

“I do not know if I want a milkshake…” Delphine groaned – the thought of that much liquid in her system didn’t seem too appealing today.

“Dude,” Cosima lifted her head off Delphine’s chest to look her in the eye. “Tell me we’re not about to fall at the first hurdle here… tell me you don’t hate milkshakes?” She looked genuinely concerned and Delphine wasn’t sure whether to laugh or take her seriously.

“Do not worry Cosima, I like milkshakes,” she reassured her, giggling at the overly dramatic sigh of relief the dreadlocked girl blew out from between her lips. “I just do not think my stomach would agree with one today.”

“Excuses, excuses,” Cosima teased. “Though just because you’re cute I’ll let this one slide,” she added, placing a soft kiss on Delphine’s cheek to illustrate her point. “Now c’mon, I still want one and I swear they do other stuff too.”

-.-.-.-

Their walk to the diner was silent, though by no means uncomfortable. It was more to do with the actual effort speaking would require, with neither of them having gotten much sleep. Even when they stepped out onto the pavement and Cosima reached her hand out to grasp Delphine’s the simple action seemed a lot more physically strenuous than it should be.

It wasn’t until they had ordered their food that Cosima made the first real attempt at conversation. “Hey.” She let her hand fall onto the table indicating for Delphine to do the same, and when she did Cosima pulled it into her own, letting her fingers trace the veins in her upturned wrist.

“Hey,” Delphine repeated with a smile – she realised this was the first time since the previous night she’d actually gotten a chance to take a good look at Cosima, and she noticed the string of faint bruises visible across the side of her neck, disappearing under the hem of her top, making her overly conscious for the first time of how her own neck must look.

“About last night…” She tried to sound casual, but Delphine could feel her fingers stilling against her wrist and saw the way her eye grew sombre. “We were both pretty drunk and…”

Delphine could feel a sudden tightness in her chest, somewhere between fear and anger. “Are you saying it was a one night affair?”

“No, no, no!” Cosima was a combination of mortified and apologetic. “I mean no… not as far as I’m concerned anyway, though if that’s what you want…” Delphine felt her irrational anger dissipate at the concerned look on Cosima’s face.

“No, I do not think that’s what I want,” she reassured her with a soft smile, letting her fingers curl around Cosima’s wrist to stroke the smooth skin of her arm lightly.

“Cool… right yea, cool.” Cosima’s fingers resumed their sketches against her skin. “I just didn’t want to like… mess things up, or whatever.” It was so uncharacteristic for Cosima to be anything but confident that Delphine couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well then stop worrying ma Cherie, because you didn’t.” She gave Cosima’s wrist a reassuring squeeze.

For a moment they just stared at one another smiling, though as their waitress crossed the floor towards them with their drinks Cosima spoke up. “You know this means I’m paying for this,” she informed her completely seriously while a milkshake was set down in front of her and a green tea in front of Delphine.

“What, why?” Delphine shot her a confused look after thanking the waitress for their drinks.

“Because…” Cosima paused dramatically, taking a long gulp of her milkshake. “This is our first date.”

“Cosima we have already slept together,” Delphine scoffed while pulling her tea towards her. “This isn’t our first date and I’m okay to half the bill with you.”

“If this isn’t a date then what is it?” Cosima huffed.

“I did not say this wasn’t a date…” Delphine corrected her. “This just isn’t our first.”

“You are not counting those meals in the café!” Cosima gasped when realisation hit her. “No fair man, I didn’t even know you liked me back then!”

“C’est la vie,” Delphine shrugged, sipping her tea and shooting a smirk across the booth.

“C’est la vie my ass,” Cosima muttered indignantly. “I’m being chivalrous and paying for this meal whether you like it or not.”

 “If this were our first date I’d find you very rude right now.” Delphine teased.

“You know, I’ve a horrible feeling you’re going to be a handful Delphine Cormier,” Cosima dead panned, and Delphine couldn’t help but laugh.


	7. Octopus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delphine has three months in America to decide whether or not she’ll stay there to pursue her PhD. So far the country has two things going for it - the coffee shop across the street from her apartment, and the cute waitress that serves her every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so here's a fun fact: The octopus fact mentioned in this chapter is something I saw on TV when I was 6 and has for some weird reason stuck with me since then... it may not even be a true fact because 13 years is a long time to remember something accurately... but there you go.

Cosima was sunshine and Cosima was joy. Cosima was the kind of person whose enthusiasm for life should be bottled or at the very least put on a pedestal to admire. Before they’d really known one another Delphine had presumed it was her work persona – a veil she threw over herself for better tips and more satisfied customers.

That, as it turned out, wasn’t the case at all though. Cosima lived every day amazed by each individual aspect of the world around them, and there were times Delphine found herself genuinely envious of the way she could show the same amount of enthusiasm for a patch of flowers as she could for the rotations of the earth.

Her envy never lasted though; two seconds with Cosima and she found it almost impossible to feel anything negative.  Even when holding her hand while they walked through the city Delphine felt like she was absorbing some fraction of that joy through osmosis alone. She was smiling more, laughing more, thinking more, and even learning more in spite of all the books and documentaries she’d watched growing up.

“Like, did you know that because they don’t have a skeleton octopuses can fit through something as small as a keyhole, like even the big ones, like the five or six meter ones.” One hand gestured widely while the other sat calm and wrapped in Delphine’s fingers.

“I did not know that,” she admitted, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips at the way Cosima’s entire expression glowed with her seemingly endless knowledge.

Today they were in a small park not far from the university. It wasn’t a particularly nice day though Delphine was sure even if there had been a downpour she’d have gone on the walk when Cosima suggested it that morning. She liked walking with her and watching the way the grooves in the bark of a tree could lead her to a conversation about Greek mythology or how the eroded banks of the river running next to the trail could take her down a path that ended in octopus and other deep sea creatures.

Really she just liked watching the way Cosima’s mind worked and the way it could link seemingly random facts into a tale so captivating Delphine wouldn’t mind if she spoke forever. She found it an odd thing to be attracted to – a mind. While none of her previous boyfriends had been by any means stupid or ignorant it had never been for their views on the world she’d dated them. Their bodies, yes, and often their humour or their ability to hold conversation was an important factor, though never their actual mind or the way they linked together the workings of the universe around them.

Cosima was different however, and not just because she was a woman. She was different because although Cosima was beautiful – and in fact Delphine was quite sure Cosima had ruined all other types of beauty for her – and although Cosima had an unparalleled sense of humour and unrivalled ability to create conversation it was what was inside her head that Delphine had fallen for first.

Initially it had been the ways she’d so candidly talked about scientific fields Delphine had a passion for. Then it had been her knack for pointing things out and filling Delphine in on the odd titbits of information she had on them; geeky things that most people would be embarrassed about knowing while Cosima just seemed confident. Eventually it had just spiralled to the point they were at now, where each word that left Cosima’s mouth was an opiate, raw and addictive yet strikingly beautiful.

“Dude.” Cosima was grinning at her unabashed yet curious. “You’re staring.”

“I am?” Delphine didn’t quite have it in her to be embarrassed, but feigned it all the same.

“God, checking me out while I try to teach you a little about marine biology…” She shook her head and glared playfully. “You French have no appreciation… just no appreciation what so-“

Delphine’s lips enveloped her words in a sweet kiss, pressing hard against her protests until both women were giggling into one another’s mouths. Then they stood for a moment with their foreheads pressed together and one of Delphine’s hands still grasping Cosima’s while the other stroked her cheek.

“No appreciation,” Cosima muttered finally, breaking the quite moment they’d both been enjoying.

“You are such…” Delphine paused; she knew there was an exact phrase, she just couldn’t quite place it. “What’s that term you use a lot…”

“Perfect… smokn’ hot… cute… hella cute…”

“A pain in the ass,” Delphine remembered finally, her words silencing her girlfriend. “You are such a pain in the ass.”

“I prefer it when you call me cheeky,” Cosima huffed, throwing a bemused look in Delphine’s direction.

“Sometimes ma Cherie, cheeky does not nearly cover it.” Then she tugged on Cosima’s arm to start them into motion again. “Now come on, you have to work in an hour, we need to go.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Cosima groaned, begrudgingly catching up to Delphine’s pace. “I swear, someday I’m going to quit and just spend all my time with you.”

“University is starting in a month Cosima,” Delphine reminded her. “You’ll be stopping work then to work on your dissertation.”

“Yea, but then I’ll have science to focus on and you’ll still feel all neglected,” she warned her.

“I do not feel neglected,” Delphine snorted. “I feel very lucky to be dating someone that gives me so much attention, and I know I will feel just as lucky when we’re at university.”

“You’ll not be saying that when I roll off you after we have sex and open up my laptop to work on my thesis instead of cuddle you.” Delphine outright laughed at this comment, for the thought of Cosima wanting to do anything but cuddle after they slept together was absurd to say the least.

“I am sure we’ll have no issue there.”

-.-.-.-

Delphine still came in everyday for her lunch when Cosima worked – excluding of course the day after their first night together, when Cosima had insisted the mocking they’d both receive wouldn’t be worth the half hour or so they got to see one another for.

In the two weeks since then however the taunting had eased off somewhat, and it was moderately safe for Delphine to set foot in the café door without Sarah’s singsong “oooh Cosima there’s your girlfriend” ringing in her ears. Not that she minded; it was after all a small price to pay.

Today when she came in she went to her usual spot, and as usual Cosima appeared within minutes with a menu for her to browse through. Today however there was something distinctly different about Cosima’s demeanour, she seemed a lot graver than usual.

“What is wrong?” She bypassed formalities and got straight to the point.

“Remember when I said we could do something really cool together this weekend because I had the entire weekend off?” Cosima groaned while passing over the menu.

“Oui… I do,” Delphine nodded, waiting expectantly for the bad news that was sure to follow.

“Well.” Cosima drew out the word as she rung her fingers together and a self-depreciating smile spread across her face. “Sarah and Cal kinda needed a babysitter, apparently Mrs. S is out of town visiting some Carlton dude and I kinda totally forgot I’d promised you we’d do something so I just like instantly jumped at the chance to hang out with Kira for a few hours because like dude, she’s such a cute freaking kid… and I mean Sarah said she doesn’t care if you’re there too y’know, it’s only for a few hours… but if you don’t want to I totally get it, cos like kids can kinda be…”

Delphine was sure if Cosima spoke much longer she’d pass out from lack of oxygen, and decided to save her the embarrassment of collapsing at work. “I would love to help you look after Kira.”

“Really?” Cosima’s hands stopped mid motion and she looked down at Delphine. “Because I mean I know it’s not gonna be nearly as romantic as what we’d originally planned for Saturday night but like Kira is a really good kid and she’s like seven so there’s no need to worry about like diapers or any of that gross kinda business it’s just a simple…”

“Cosima,” Delphine cut her off again before she started off on another tangent. “I already agreed, there’s no need to convince me.”

“Right, yea… cool,” Cosima nodded quickly then stopped for a moment, then added: “You’re sure you don’t mind?”

“You can even take her to my apartment for the evening,” Delphine reassured her. “I mean if you want… but I am closer and my apartment has a spare room Kira could sleep in if Sarah and Cal are going to be back late?”

Cosima’s entire face lit up at the suggestion and Delphine knew it had been the right move. “Yes, oh my god yea totally, I mean I’ll obvs need to run it by Sarah and all that jazz, but totally, totally, that’d be awesome,” she nodded enthusiastically. “Wow, I’m so glad you’re not super pissed at me right now.”

“Do not worry ma Cherie, it takes a lot more than babysitting to annoy me,” she reassured the American. “I mean if anything it would be the way you insisted on playing that minecraft game when we’re watching movies,” she added teasingly.

“I keep telling you, let me show you how it works and you’ll be just as addicted!” Cosima huffed.

“Mmm, if you say so.” Delphine brushed off the suggestion. “I’m ready to order by the way.”

-.-.-.-

Cosima was due to arrive with Kira any minute, and just as well too because Delphine had just managed to end the skype call with her parents – not that she didn’t want them to know about Cosima, she just didn’t want them to know about her and Cosima. Eventually they’d probably find out, and eventually she wouldn’t mind so much, just right now while she was between countries and their relationship was so new, it was something she could really do without.

So thankfully she closed down her skype window and after a quick glance at the clock on her laptop, logged into her emails, figuring she had a few minutes before Cosima got here. Most was junk which she promptly deleted,  one was from her older brother asking her how things were going which she made a mental note to reply to the next day, and a few from University of Minnesota regarding her PhD programme.

Finally there was an email from two days ago that caught Delphine’s attention just as she was about to sign out. She clicked to open it and when she did her heart stilled for a moment as her eyes scanned over the page. Eventually she sat back in her chair, head spinning from what she’d just read.

She needed time to process, needed time to figure out what the email meant for her. She didn’t have that time right now though; right now her buzzer was signalling the arrival of Cosima and Kira and drawing her away from the cloud of thoughts in her mind.

“Pas maintenant,” she whispered. “Pas maintenant.” Then she shut down the lid of her laptop and stood to answer the door.


	8. Slime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delphine has three months in America to decide whether or not she’ll stay there to pursue her PhD. So far the country has two things going for it - the coffee shop across the street from her apartment, and the cute waitress that serves her every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was moving this week, thus how long it took me to write this chapter. I'm also back at college now, so updates may be a little slower than before because of that, though we'll see how I manage to juggle things.
> 
> Also in relation to the chapter, lets be real, as brilliant as Cosima is at science we all know she is 100% the kind of person to make a mess, even just doing something simple.

Delphine tried not to think about the email for the rest of the evening. The last thing she needed was Cosima noticing something about her demeanour that would give her away and so from when Kira had arrived right up until they were done colouring Delphine had tried her best just to ignore all other thoughts in her head and focus instead on the picture in front of her – a cottage surrounded by a wood, because when she’d admitted to being uncreative Kira had informed her that it was okay and she could even just draw a house if she liked.

Admittedly keeping her mind off it hadn’t been as mammoth a task as she’d presumed it would be. As it turned out Cosima was a natural with kids, and half the time she found herself so caught up in the way the pair interacted that she completely forgot she had to be worried at all.

Once they’d finished their colouring however Cosima’s next suggestion for an activity had blown all thoughts of the email clean out of her head. “A science experiment?” She repeated Cosima’s words as if it were the first time she’d heard the phrase.

“Yea, come on it’ll be cool,” Cosima nodded.

“Science is my favourite class!” Kira was practically bouncing around the room at the mention of the word – though that could be in part due to the amount of chocolate she’d been getting fed this evening thus far.

“See,” Cosima nodded at the hyper child. “You know you want to?”

“I am not sure my landlord would want me to though,” Delphine frowned - she’d heard enough of Cosima’s horror stories about high school labs gone wrong to know that Cosima and science probably wouldn’t equate to her deposit being returned.

“C’mon dude, just a little chemistry?” Cosima waggled her eyebrows. “It’ll be fun?”

“Please Delphine?” Kira chimed in, as if she already knew her adorable seven year old face would be impossible to say no to. “We can be really careful?”

Somehow Delphine didn’t believe there’d be anything careful about the experiment, though she found herself nodding along anyway. “D’accord… fine, we can do science.”

“Yay!” Cosima and Kira both cheered in tandem and Delphine couldn’t help but laugh at her girlfriend who as it turned out was apparently a child.

“Okay so here’s my plan…” Cosima began dramatically, waving Delphine and Kira to silence even though neither one had been speaking. “Slime.”

“Pardon?” This was becoming a worse idea by the second.

“Slime,” Cosima repeated with an unsettlingly mischievous twinkle in her eye. “We make slime.”

Delphine groaned, though Kira was already ohing and ahing at the possibilities so yet again she relented. “And how do you suggest we make slime…?” She hated to break it to her girlfriend, but this was an apartment not a lab.

“Well miss smarty pants,” Cosima mocked. “If my memory serves me correct, which it usually does, let’s be real, then all we need is some water, some starch, craft glue, something to mix it in, and something to mix it with.” She was smiling so proudly Delphine almost didn’t want to burst her bubble.

Still though, someone needed to do it. “Ma Cherie I do not know why you presume I have starch or craft glue…mais I do not?”

“Didn’t say you needed to.” It was obvious Cosima had been hoping Delphine would mention this. “I’ve got ‘em right here.” Then she reached across to where she’d left her handbag on the couch and pulled out both items, even taking several small tubes of food colouring out with them.

“See Kira, we can even colour it,” she told the young girl excitedly. “What colour do you think we should go with?”

She passed the vials into Kira’s hands and watched as she turned the bottles over in her fingers. “The red one…” She settled on finally. “The red one looks cool.”

“The red one it is then,” Cosima nodded, taking all the food colouring back and placing the red bottle on the table before shoving the rest back in her bag.

“You had this planned all along.” Delphine narrowed her eyes and shot a playful glare at Cosima. “Didn’t you?”

“You’ll never prove a thing,” Cosima grinned, reaching out and patting Delphine patronisingly on the knee. “Now chop, chop, you still need to get us a mixing bowl and a spoon.”

Delphine wasn’t sure if she was more foolish for going along with this in the first place or for rising on Cosima’s orders and walking into the kitchen to pull the required items out of the press. She also filled a jug with water while she was there and then walked back, placing all paraphernalia down on the coffee table before kneeling next to Cosima again.

The task itself wasn’t that difficult – they let Kira mix the water, glue and food colouring in a bowl until it was acceptably gloopy then they added the starch and this time Cosima offered to stir considering it had suddenly become a lot thicker. All in all it didn’t take more than ten minutes, and even Delphine was more than a little amused by the way the slime slid through her fingers for a few moments before deciding it best to tidy up and allow Kira to continue playing.

“I am going to take these dishes to the kitchen,” she whispered against Cosima’s ear while her girlfriend helped Kira test just how far her slime would stretch.

“Gimme two seconds, I’ll help,” she muttered, not quite turning away from Kira, who was walking backwards to the far end of the room.

“I don’t think it goes further?” She giggled, the slime slipping through her small hands so she had to scramble to keep it from hitting the floor.

“Okay, okay then, bring it back in,” Cosima laughed. “Right monkey, you play with it for a few minutes while me and Delphine give the place a quick tidy, cool?”

“Cool,” Kira parroted with a smile, already throwing the slime back into the bowl and beginning to prod at it.

Delphine lifted the spoon they’d been using and the cup that had held the water, trusting Cosima to manage the starch and the glue; she was half was to the kitchen door when she realised this may have been too much responsibility for her girlfriend to manage.

She heard the soft “ooooh shit” and prepared herself for the worst even before she turned around. Still though, it was impossible to stop the sigh from slipping past her lips at the sight she was greeted with.

“You spilled the glue…” She noted, observing the deer caught in headlights expression her girlfriend wore while holding up an empty bottle of crafts glue.

“I may have spilled the glue…” Cosima agreed, looking down to where the sticky liquid dripped off her leg and onto the rug they’d been kneeling on.

Onto a rug that came with this apartment…” Delphine added, trying not to sound too annoyed, knowing an argument wouldn’t really help right now, especially in front of Kira, who was staring uneasily between the two.

“It would seem so,” Cosima smiled sheepishly.

“I will…” She paused, willing herself not to get too worked up. “Get a cloth.” Then she turned on her heel and stepped into the kitchen without another word.

She put the bowl and the spoon into the sink then leaned against the counter and shut her eyes. She wasn’t alone for long though, and soon she could hear feet padding across the floor from behind her, slow and cautious, as if she were likely to turn around and strike at any second.

“So…” Cosima’s voice was unusually timid. “You super mad or just regular mad?”

“Neither,” she admitted, turning on the spot and opening her eyes to look at her girlfriend. “Just a little upset.”

“Ah don’t say that, don’t say upset!” Cosima pleaded, taking a cautionary step closer so she was now within arm’s reach. “I’d rather you be mad at me than upset with me!”

“I’m not upset at you per say…” Delphine reassured her, taking one of Cosima’s waving hands and tugging at it until Cosima stumbled in closer to her chest. “Just upset in general because my landlord is not the most forgiving of people.”

“Still though…” Cosima rested her hands on Delphine’s waist. “I’m the one that fucked up, you can still be a little mad at me if you want?” She suggested, her tone almost teasing again.

“Do you want me to be angry with you?”  Delphine laughed, her own hands resting in the grooves where Cosima’s neck met her shoulders.

“Well no, obvs not…”Cosima rolled her eyes. “Just saying, if you want to be I’ll totally get it.”

“Well thank you for the offer,” Delphine giggled, pulling Cosima in again so they were now almost flush together.  “Fortunately for you however, I do not think I have it in me to stay mad at you for very long.”

“Oh really?” Cosima pressed her forehead into Delphine’s. “Is it a magic power I have or something?”

“Mhm, oui,” Delphine nodded, her eyes tracing the swell of Cosima’s lips. “Something quite like magic.”

She could feel the pre-kiss anticipation bubbling in her stomach though it apparently wasn’t meant to be. Instead of a kiss she got an interruption, just as she could feel the first light brushes of skin on skin.

“Cosima… Delphine… I think my mom and dad’s here.” Kira was calling at them from the other room, though they could also hear footsteps, and managed to untangle themselves in record time before the little girl appeared in the doorway.

“Yea sure, be right there monkey,” Cosima nodded enthusiastically. “You go gather your things.” They both watched as she nodded diligently then disappeared again back into the living room.

“That was close…” Delphine hummed, still leaning against the counter with a slight flush now rising in her cheeks.

“Shoulda known…” Cosima sighed. “Cockblocked by a Manning.”

“Cockblocked?” Delphine wasn’t familiar with the term.

“That’s an Amiericanism for another time babe.” Cosima shook her head and grabbed Delphine’s hand, pulling her back into the other room to help Kira tidy.

-.-.-.-

“Kids make a lot of mess,” Cosima huffed later that night, finally stepping out of the bathroom and dragging herself towards the bed where Delphine already lay under the covers.

“So do adults apparently,” Delphine replied absently, marking her place in the book she was reading and sitting it on the bedside table so she could turn and accept Cosima into her arms.

“So this is your game is it?” The dreadlocked girl hummed, her hand beginning to trace up and down the length of Delphine’s arm. “You’re just going to hang it over my head forever.”

“Not forever,” Delphine insisted with a small laugh. “A couple of months perhaps.”

“You suck…” Cosima whined, though she punctuated the words with a long kiss into Delphine’s jaw. “But whatever, I’m going to buy you a new one anyway.”

“You are not!” Delphine scoffed. “You are saving your money for university Cosima, not for buying me new rugs.”

“Dude chill, that rug was probably like dirt cheap anyway,” she insisted, rolling herself a little so she was looking down at Delphine when she spoke. “In fact it’s probably Ikea your landlord got it in… I mean I could for sure find one online that cost like practically nothing.”

“Liar,” Delphine challenged playfully, giggling at the way the competitive spark in Cosima’s eye instantly turned on at the remark.

“Oh you are on Corimier, you are on.” She practically threw herself out of bed; a dangerous look gleaming in her eye. “I’m going to get your laptop right now and prove you wrong, you just watch me.”

Then she was gone and Delphine continued to laugh at just how animatedly angry she’d been at the accusation. All at once though her laughter died; Cosima reappeared in the doorway of the room, laptop open in her hand, and Delphine remembered for the first time all evening the last thing she’d been looking at before she closed the lid.

The look on Cosima’s face told her that her girlfriend knew now too what the email had said, even if it had been written entirely in French.

A long pregnant silence spread between them. Delphine not daring to speak while at the same time watching ten thousand different emotions swim through Cosima’s large expressive eyes. She almost hoped nothing would be said because right now saying nothing seemed better than confronting the truth. That wasn’t an option though, and eventually Cosima opened her mouth.

“When were you going to tell me you got a full PhD scholarship place at L’Institut de Maria Sibylla Merian?”


	9. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delphine has three months in America to decide whether or not she’ll stay there to pursue her PhD. So far the country has two things going for it - the coffee shop across the street from her apartment, and the cute waitress that serves her every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made myself a little sad writing this... so I'm sorry in advance. Also bonus points for guessing what "I would miss hanging out with you" really means.

_“When were you going to tell me you won a full PhD scholarship place at L’Institut de Maria Sibylla Merian?”_

The question hung in the air far too long for Delphine’s liking and although in the brief period of time between the question being asked and her answering she considered any multitude of lies, she finally settled on going with the truth.

“I don’t know…” She whispered, wishing from the second she’d said it that she’d thought of anything else instead.

“Would you have told me?” Cosima wasn’t angry, she was hurt, and Delphine now fully understood what she’d meant earlier when she’d said anger was better than being upset.

“Eventually…” She knew she should be saying more, she wished she could say more, though right now her brain had seemed to slow to a stop as she focused instead on every micro-expression of Cosima’s face.

“What? A quick text before you hoped on a plane back to France?” She snapped, some of her rage seeming to finally seep through the pain.

“Cosima…”

“Right, right… sorry,” the dreadlocked girl nodded, pulling the reigns back on her anger.

“Can we talk about it?” She pleaded, even though she knew right now that may be less than she deserved.

“You want to talk?” Cosima sighed while simultaneously closing over the laptop lid.

“Oui…” Delphine nodded. “Please?” She dared a glance at the empty mattress beside her and Cosima seemed to take the hint, carefully placing the laptop on the floor and crossing the room to the bed, where she sat cross legged on top of the covers.

“When’d you find out?” She questioned straight away, not really giving Delphine the time she would like to compose herself.

“Today…” She admitted truthfully. “Right before you got here with Kira… I was going to tell you, it just did not seem like the right time and we were having so much fun I…”

“I get it…” Cosima waved for her to stop explaining herself. “And you’re right, it’d probably have like pissed all over my good mood earlier,” she agreed, even chancing something that vaguely resembled her classic smirk.

“What’re you thinking?” She asked after a brief pause – she could practically see the thoughts whizzing across the cortex of Cosima’s brain and wanted more than anything for her to share them rather than bottle them up.

“What am I thinking…” Cosima huffed the question out around long breath, her fingers running slowly through her dreadlocked hair. “Honestly?”

“Honestly.” It was better to be hurt by the truth than comforted by a lie – or that’s what she was telling herself anyway.

“Honestly I’m thinking long distance never works…” Delphine knew from the apologetic shrug that accompanied the comment that Cosima hadn’t meant for it to be hurtful, though it still struck her somewhere deep in her chest and suddenly she felt like she was going to cry.

“You do not think we could make it if we had to?” She cursed herself for just how vulnerable her voice sounded when laced with tears.

“Well y’know…” Cosima shrugged again and her hand grasped blindly in the air for the one definite answer to their problem. “I’d rather we didn’t have to…”

Not in so many words Delphine knew Cosima was making her stance on the matter very clear; stay.

She wished it were that simple too. She wished she could just nod her head right now and agree that, yes, Cosima did have a valid point so she’d just ignore the email and continue with her original plans of going to Minnesota. Life was never that simple though and as much as Delphine wanted to agree and tell Cosima she’d never leave her that just wasn’t something she was able to do right now.

“If you do go…” Cosima’s voice broke through her wall of thought. “When would you have to leave?”

“ _If_ …” Delphine stressed the word. “I were to go back to France, I would need to familiarise myself with the institute and find a place to live so… perhaps a few days.”

Cosima nodded slowly letting the words toss over in her head. “A few days… that’s not long.” Her voice was finally beginning to show the same emotional strain as Delphine’s and it was only making things worse.

“Non, it is not.” There was no point denying it, or glorifying those few days and speaking of all the wonderful things they could do during them to distract themselves from reality.

“I suppose you’re gonna say you need time to think about it?” She asked then, and Delphine could hear the lump in the back of her throat.

“Oui… I have not even gotten a chance to read the email properly, and it is not an easy decision for me to make you know? On the one hand I have my family and friends back in France who I miss, as well as the opportunity to study in a country where I have a better grasp of the language and on the other hand…” She faltered for a second and looked hard into Cosima’s eyes until tears blurred her vision. “In America I have you.”

Then they were both crying and after a second she felt Cosima’s hand reach blindly for her own. She grabbed in and held on tight, focusing on the way their fingers entwined instead of the way her sadness burned at the back of her throat.

“How about this…” Cosima spoke up after a moment, her voice thick and heavy from crying. “We both just take all day tomorrow to think… we just… we think everything over and tomorrow night we meet somewhere and just decide what to do?”

“It seems so final,” Delphine admitted, wiping stray tears from her eye.

“It is pretty final,” Cosima reminded her with a sad laugh. “Not to pressure you or anything,” she added hastily. “I mean I get how big a deal this is.”

“It is a big deal,” Delphine agreed with a sad nod. “So yes, we shall take the day to think it over… on one condition though.”

“Sure, anything?” Cosima nodded absently.

“You stay tonight?” She didn’t care that she sounded needy; in fact she may have added an extra vulnerable edge to her tone just to sway Cosima’s decision. “You can leave tomorrow then and we can think about it I just… I don’t want to spend tonight without you.” Now that there was a very real chance she was going to lose Cosima she wasn’t too keen on spending a single second away from her side.

“Yea…” Cosima agreed without hesitation. “Yea I can stay… course I can stay.”

Delphine smiled and Cosima removed her glasses and manoeuvred herself until she was able to slip beneath the covers. They lay in silence for a while, just staring at one another whilst allowing their legs to knot together and their hands to find purchase in the cloth of one another’s pyjamas.

Delphine could stay like this for days just drinking in everything that made up Cosima. She could quite happily absorb each and every characteristic and quirk, from the flare of her nostrils when she took a breath to the way her eyelashes still clumped together in wake of her tears. It was only Cosima’s voice that stopped her counting details for an eternity.

“This just sucks…” She whispered, her breath tickling the corner of Delphine’s cheek.

“It is an unfair position,” Delphine nodded sympathetically, trying not to let emotion get the better of her again.

“No I just mean I…” Cosima paused, and for a second Delphine could see the end of the sentence in her eyes; then it was gone. “Really am going to miss hanging out with you,” she chose instead, her words stilted and forced and not at all what she’d wanted to say.

“I would miss hanging out with you too,” Delphine nodded earnestly. “In fact I think I would miss it more than I have ever missed hanging out with anyone in my entire life.”

“Yea,” Cosima murmured, burying her face into the crook of Delphine’ s neck. “Yea, same.”


	10. Think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delphine has three months in America to decide whether or not she’ll stay there to pursue her PhD. So far the country has two things going for it - the coffee shop across the street from her apartment, and the cute waitress that serves her every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I am sorry about the length of time between chapters but like... college is just... college. Plus on top of that I've got the frigging plague or something so I can barely speak at the moment, let alone write.

“Wait, so now you’re just giving her a day to think?!” Sarah was downright appalled by what Cosima was saying right now.

“I gave both of us a day to think Sarah,” she reminded her friend needlessly while lifting her Americano to her lips to take another sip.

“What’s there to think about?” The British girl all but shouted. “You don’t want her to go, so just tell her not to go!”

“Oh Sarah, honestly,” Alison snapped, swatting her with the cloth she’d been using to wipe a table before Cosima came in. “Not everything’s that black and white.”

“Easy for you to say,” Sarah snorted. “Beth’s not about to up sticks and fly to a different continent.”

“Thanks for that reminder there Sarah…” Cosima replied dully while Alison shot Sarah a glare so severe it would bring most men to their knees.

She’d really considered just spending the entire day at home, seeing as she’d had it off anyway – though initially she’d taken the weekend off with the idealistic notion of spending it doing cute couple stuff. She’d wanted to ask Rachel something anyway though, and once she’d come in she’d also decided that when it doubt it probably wouldn’t hurt to ask her two best friends for advice (needless to say she’d had a momentary lapse in just memory as to just who her two best friends were).

She’d caught them during that quite period between the 1-2 lunches and the 5-7 dinners as well, so aside from one lady just starting on her lasagne there was nothing for Sarah or Alison to do aside from fret over Cosima’s shattered love life while she sat miserably between them listening as they bickered.

“Cosima honey.” Alison’s features softened as if by magic when she turned away from Sarah. “What does your heart tell you?” She questioned, ignoring the obnoxious scoffing noise Sarah made.

“My heart tells me I want to be with her…” Cosima shrugged – that much at least was simple. “The problem is my head’s telling me that if she goes back to France we’re just going to drift apart and then I’ll be ten times more heartbroken than I’d be if I just ended it now.”

“You don’t know that…” Alison tried to insist, though Cosima shot her a look that silenced her.

“We’re both about to start PhD programmes Alison,” Cosima explained with a sigh. “I mean at the best of times long distance is tough, never mind when we’re both so wrapped up in our studies we’ll probably never get to talk, never mind actually visit one another.”

“So what you’re saying… is either she stays or it’s over?” Alison surmised hesitantly.

Cosima blew out a long breath then nodded sadly. “I guess that’s what I’m saying… yea.”

-.-.-.-

Delphine sat on her couch staring long and hard at the A1 sheet of paper she’d tacked to the wall across from her. She’d always found that when dealing with a crisis or dilemma of any sort she was able to apply better reason when the problem was written out in front of her.

Right now that meant the sheet of paper she’d bought this morning after Cosima left had a black line drawn down the middle, with ‘France’ written on one side and ‘America’ written on the other in neat calligraphy that in itself had taken a half hour to do. At the time she’d considered it important that the words looked nice, now however she was all too aware that she’d just been holding off the inevitable.

The results were clear.

Even now after two hours of sitting and staring at the lists she’d made there was nothing else she could fathom that she could tack onto her ‘America’ list, which right now had only one word scrawled under the heading; ‘Cosima’.

Opposite it was a list Delphine had no trouble writing out; her friends, family, a country with her native language, and although her qualification would be the same no matter where she chose to study, L’Institut de Maria Sibylla Merian would pay her better for her research.

It was all right there, written in black and white in front of her and yet in her heart of hearts it didn’t feel black and white.

For once in Delphine’s life the decision didn’t seem as simply solved as writing out the pros and cons and going with what the results told her. For once there was another force at work, a force that seemed so much more powerful than her brain ever was.

The only question was would she be brave enough to listen.

-.-.-.-

“So… you talk to Queen Bitch Rachel earlier?” Sarah questioned while she stood behind the till adding up the total for the two Americanos Cosima bought while she talked to them.

“Mhm… it took a bit of firm reasoning, though in the end I threatened to get you on her case and she caved,” Cosima smirked while handing over her money.

“I swear that nut job is creepy levels of obsessed with me,” Sarah huffed, shuffling uncomfortably from one foot to the other while throwing Cosima’s money into the drawer of the till.

“Well I for one think it’s great being able to use you as a bargaining chip,” Cosima teased, though in light of her overall mood the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just promise me you’ll make this whole business with Delphine count, right?” Sarah pushed.

“I plan on it, don’t you worry,” Cosima gave her a firm nod and accepted her change. “And thanks… for agreeing to tonight by the way,” she added after a moment.

“Eh, what’re friends for and all that shite,” Sarah shrugged off the compliment. “Alison and I have nothing better to be at anyway…”

-.-.-.-

Delphine got the text at half seven that evening while still pouring over her bleak looking sheet of paper.

<<Meet me in the diner at 10.>>

For some reason ten felt too soon. Ten was only two and a half hours away and that was nowhere near enough time for Delphine to work through everything she was feeling – it was nowhere near enough time for her to make the choices she needed to make.

America or France?

Heart or head?


	11. Head?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus christ would you believe i've had this entire story written for like a year now and I just literally forgot all about publishing the last two chapters? 
> 
> Maybe it's for the best? Who knows? This is mostly fluff and Cophine could do with a little fluff....

It was raining when Delphine crossed the street to the café that evening, just before ten o’clock. In fact it had been raining so heavily that she’d stepped through the door and immediately gone to work shaking off her umbrella and folding it away, not even bothering to look up beforehand. When she did though, she sucked in a sharp breath at the sight that greeted her.

The room was almost completely in darkness, aside from the rows of candles that carved a path through the restaurant, leading to the table she usually sat at in the corner. The table itself was shrouded in flickering candlelight that illuminated Cosima’s face where she sat patiently staring at Delphine and waiting for her to step forward.

“Cosima…” Words failed her though, and instead she took a step into the café, her eyes taking stock of every detail as she walked between two rows of candles towards where her girlfriend sat.

“I know… total fire hazard,” the American joked lightly, her smile seeming to add a thousand more candles to the room. “Though I figured this could be the last time we ever eat together in here so y’know… may as well make it special.”

“Cosima I…”

“Ah,” Cosima cut her off with a sharp wave of her hand. “Don’t want to hear it… not yet anyway,” she explained. “This is a date. We’re going to just talk and chill for a while and have a totally romantic evening and if it’s our last romantic evening then so be it and if it’s not well… either way we can wait until after our food for you to tell me.”

She seemed confident in what she said, though Delphine could see the fear and sadness dancing behind the thick rims of her glasses and soinstead of protest she just nodded along. So she sat, unsure of whether or not this was a ploy on Cosima’s part, though sure that even if it was it would be too late now to change her mind.

“So should I ask how this is going to work if the café is closed?” Delphine asked after a brief silence.

“Oh Delphine, in all the time you’ve known me have I ever come across as the kind of person not to have a plan?” Cosima shot back playfully, while simultaneously pulling her phone from her pocket and tapping the screen a few times before sliding it away. “I have two little helpers.”

Delphine snorted at the comment. “I am imagining Sarah and Alison in elf costumes,” she giggled, the image sending Cosima into her own fit of laughter.

“You think that’s funny?” A voice from behind Delphine called, and she turned to the sight of Sarah and Alison walking towards them with food and drink. “You shoulda seen the year Cosima had to dress as one for a Santa’s Grotto,” Sarah sniggered, coming to a stop in front of their table and placing down their drinks.

“What?” Delphine twisted her head to look at Cosima so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. “You were an elf and you never told me?” She could see it so clearly in her head; the gaudy green and red costume contrasting so harshly to Cosima’s usual style and the ridiculous little hat fitting awkwardly around her dreads and jingling each time she took a step.

“It was a favour,” Cosima muttered harshly while Alison set down their plates. “My friend’s dad runs the grotto and they were a man down… so whatever,” she tried to conceal her blush while all three woman around her laughed.

“Well either way, we’ll let you tell Delphine all about it in peace,” Alison nodded curtly once their dishes had been set down. “We’ll be in the kitchen with Felix if you need anything.”

Then they were gone, without as much as an obnoxious wink or thumbs up from Sarah, and an odd kind of silence fell over their table – it wasn’t uncomfortable per say, though nor was it the long silences Delphine had grown used to around Cosima, when they’d lounge about in the evening doing their own thing or curl up together in bed just enjoying one another’s presence.

“I can’t believe they told you that…” Cosima sighed eventually, and Delphine looked up from her plate and laughed.

“I’m sure you were very cute,” she offered sympathetically. “Though I cannot believe you did not tell me before…” She added; a little offended that something as embarrassing as this would have been kept from her.

“Yea well, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“Yes, I suppose there is…” She was overcome by sadness all of a sudden; knowing that after only a few weeks together there was still so much about Cosima she didn’t know, and knowing that if she were to follow her head over her heart she may never find any of it out.

“How about this…” Cosima suggested tentatively, obviously having picked up on Delphine’s tone. “We play a game?”

“A game?” She quirked her lips into a half smile – only Cosima would consider suggesting a game.

“Uh huh… like twenty questions,” she nodded enthusiastically. “We get to know all the stuff about one another that we don’t know yet… the stuff we never got round to talking about?”

Delphine tried her best to ignore the sadness in Cosima’s eyes when she nodded her head. “D’accord… you go first?” She picked up her fork and took a bite of her food while she waited for Cosima to think of a question.

“Okay… favourite book?” She mused. “And I mean one you read for recreation, not for scientific purposes… we’ve already talked about them,” she added.

“I suppose this may be slightly typical given my field, though I love Brave New World,” Delphine replied after a moment thought. “Though I quite enjoy anything by Huxley… Chrome Yellow was the first book I read in English  outside of school books,” she added.

“Damn, no Easing yourself into the language, huh?” Cosima nodded, obviously impressed.

“Yes well, if I had not become a scientist I would have liked to teach English so I always loved literature,” Delphine shrugged, her comment giving inspiration for her own question. “What would you have been? If not for your passion for science?”

“Oh…” Cosima really seemed stuck for a moment, taking a long sip of her drink while she thought. “Crap man, I’ve kinda always wanted to do some kinda science…” She blew out a breath, obviously determine to come up with a more satisfactory answer. “Oh! Actually,” she almost jumped out of her chair, her hand grasping to pluck the answer from the air. “Kinda wanted to be an Egyptologist when I was little…” she nodded proudly.

“You wanted to… study Egypt?” Delphine had never heard the term before, but presumed that was along the lines of its definition.

“Well Ancient Egypt… pyramids and their gods and how they lived, all that kinda jazz,” Cosima explained. “Anyway… favourite colour?”

It was such a basic question Delphine was surprised it hadn’t even come up in the initial getting to know one another phase of their friendship. Instantly her stock answer for the question produced itself on the tip of her tongue; the blue of the sky on a clear day because it always calmed her. Before she even parted her lips to speak though, a second answer came to mind that made her stock answer seem obsolete.

“The colour of your eyes…” She paused for a moment and watched Cosima’s previously playful expression turn to one of shock. “Their colour when you’re laughing, when they cloud over when you’re sad… when you look at me when we’re lying next to one another…” she trailed off.

She expected Cosima to laugh it off, or perhaps to become upset over it. What she hadn’t expected though was a long drawn out silence. They both just stared at one another, and Cosima seemed curious more than anything as her eyes explored the expanse of Delphine’s face.

Finally she felt obliged to break the silence herself. “What is the worst film you have ever seen?” She questioned, trying to keep her tone upbeat even though she could still feel Cosima’s burning stare on her skin.

“Armageddon,” Cosima whispered absently, vaguely muttering something about scientific inaccuracies that Delphine couldn’t quite catch, largely due to her increasing discomfort at just how intensely Cosima was looking at her. “Do you love me?”

Her words were barely a whisper, barely a sound at all and yet they shattered Delphine’s eardrums and ricochet around in her head. She wanted to lie, wanted to still leave herself with the option to walk away from Cosima at the end of this dinner without having given her heart to her. She could see the intensity in Cosima’s eyes though, and knew that was no longer an option.

Instead her lips parted and she said the only thing in this world she knew for sure. “Yes.” She nodded. “I absolutely do.” Cosima smiled and her eyes watered but she didn’t say a word so Delphine spoke again. “Do you love me?”

She nodded once and cleared her throat. “More than anything…” Saying it seemed to defeat her and complete her all in the one breath.

Then they sat there, food more or less untouched and Delphine waited. Waited for Cosima to get the courage to ask the next questioned, while at the same time trying to figure out exactly what her answer would be.

“Do you have a bag packed?” Delphine knew Cosima was edging around the question burning a hole in the pit of her stomach, working up the courage to say the words.

“I do…” There was no point in lying, even though she wished she could just to avoid the flicker of pain across Cosima’s face.

“Does that mean what I think it means then…?” She was trying to put on a brave face, and it was all Delphine could do not to break down and cry.

“It means I came here with the intention to follow my head…” Delphine explained slowly, her words crisp and clear in the sharp silence that had landed around them.

“And is that still your intention?” Delphine cringed inwardly at how thick Cosima’s voice was.

“I don’t know…” she muttered, pinching her brow and wishing some sign from the heavens would point her in the right direction.

“You know you can’t keep saying that forever…” Cosima replied. “You’ll start sounding like a broken record.” She tried to make it a joke, but the emotion was still all too apparent in her voice for Delphine to take it as one.

“I am aware… I just…” she paused and moved her hand away from her face to look Cosima in the eye. “I have just never followed my heart before…”

“You ever heard the saying there’s a first time for everything?” Cosima half joked, her lips almost managing a smile.

“I have…” Delphine nodded, then fell silent; her eyes pouring over every inch of Cosima’s face.

“And…”

Delphine worried her bottom lip between her teeth. Her mind teetering on the edge between logic and love. For a second her eyes drifted shut and every memory she’d created since she’d come here played back for her like an old movie reel.

The first time she’d spotted the sway of dreadlocks out of the corner of her eye as she sipped on her latte. The first time two canine fangs had slipped out when Cosima had thrown her a casual toothy grin. Their first dance, their first kiss, their first time lying in bed together; bodies sweaty and aching and ecstatic. The first time she’d realised she’d loved Cosima when she’d watched her ramble along on a tangent while they’d lounged together on her couch.

Every moment replayed across the back of her eyelids, reminding her of all she had and all she was setting herself up to lose.

When she opened her eyes Cosima was still sitting there, staring at her, anticipation mixed with fear clouding her soft, beautiful features.

“And I think I have spent far too much of my life following my head…”


	12. Heart.

“Did you get the wine?” Was the first thing Cosima heard when she shut her apartment door behind her after a long day in the lab.

“What, no hello? No I’ve missed you,” she huffed, dropping her bag to shrug off her red jacket.

“Cosima… did you get the wine?” Delphine appeared in the kitchen doorway, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips while she dried off her hands on a tea cloth.

“Yes,” Cosima sighed, reaching into her handbag and producing two bottles of red and a bottle of white. “Enough for all of us… or just Alison depending on how you look at things,” she laughed at her own joke.

“Bon,” Delphine nodded. “Now do you want to help me in the kitchen? I still have a lot to do,” she added hopefully, indicating behind her.

“Yea sure,” Cosima nodded diligently, and followed her girlfriend into the other room with the wine bottles still in hand. “What you need?” She looked around her, trying to pick a job to do first.

“Uh… could you check the curry… make sure it is not too thick?” Delphine pointed towards the pot still on the gas, and Cosima hummed in agreement before placing down the wine bottles and getting to work.

“You know…” She mused absently once she was sure the food was still simmering away nicely. “You didn’t have to offer to do this.” She gestured around the room. “I mean everyone knows we both spend most of our time in the lab and-“

“I know I do not have to ma Cherie,” Delphine interrupted, setting aside the knife she’d been using to dice the strawberries for desert and turning to face her girlfriend. “I want to.”

“Our friends are asses though.” Cosima crinkled her nose in mock disgust. “Plus dinner parties are Alison and Beth’s forte, not ours…” she reminded her. “You know, just like Felix and Tony throw the best house party and Sarah and Cal are the best at needing a last minute babysitter…”

“Perhaps, though I never got the chance to thank them properly,” Delphine explained with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

“Thank them for what?” Cosima barely contained her bark of laughter. “The weeks they tormented us for when we first started dating?”

“No, certainly not that.” Delphine still cringed at the memory of the variation of lewd comments Sarah in particular had managed to throw their way. “I was considering it more of a thank you for uh… everything else.”

“Nope,” Cosima shook her head apologetically. “Still not even kinda following this conversation dude.”

“When I was making the list… on whether I’d stay here or go back to France.” She subconsciously moved across the room closer to Cosima when she mentioned the strenuous period from a few months ago. “I realised that if I were to stay here even though I would be leaving a lot behind me in France it would not be like starting anew, because I did not only have you… but your friends had always made me feel so welcome as well…” she trailed off trying to define precisely what she was trying to say. “I suppose they have just always made me feel so welcome, and I want now to say thanks.”

“Wait.” For a split second Cosima had seemed impressed – maybe even slightly moved – by what Delphine had said, though all of a sudden some kind of realisation dawned. “You’re saying I wasn’t the only reason you stayed here? That it wasn’t just romantic notions of true love that kept you in the states?” She placed a hand across her chest. “I am wounded Delphine, wounded!”

“Do not be silly,” Delphine rolled her eyes and took the final few steps into Cosima’s arms. “You are the reason I stayed here, and will always stay here,” she reassured, her breath hot as it ran across Cosima’s lips. “I am just glad you have such great people in your life that were so willing to embrace me.”

“Yea well.” Cosima wrapped her arms around Delphine’s waist, pulling her until they were flush together. “It’s pretty difficult not to like you.” Then she pressed a long languid kiss into Delphine’s lips.

“I’m glad,” Delphine hummed when they pulled away, leaning their foreheads together and stealing a few more quick kisses between breaths. “You know… I would have never forgiven myself if I’d moved to France and lost you…”

“Good,” Cosima whispered against her skin. “Because I’d never have gotten over losing you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that, only took a year and a half to finish. Go me.

**Author's Note:**

> So yea, tell me what you think maybe?


End file.
